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Passport stamps
1 February, 2007 - 16:40 
Hartster
Hartster
I'd thought I'd start a discussion on where to get passport stamped from places that normally don't stamp them - e.g., if you're on a cruise from the US visiting the Caribbean on a US passport, those ports of call don't (normally) stamp your passport.
What worked for you (or possible places to do so or what didn't work), and the date it worked, should be posted here. The usual caveats apply: this info is not to be used for illegal purposes, don't demand a stamp, and of course, the immigration authorities have the right to change their mind and not stamp.
In order for this to work, contribute as well as take info. Please.
I'll start. From my 18-28 Jan 07 cruise (US passport):
Tortola, British Vigin Islands. In Road Town, walk from the cruise ship dock to the main road and make a left. The Tourist Board office is just past the market. Don't go to the tourism window. Instead, go inside, and just past the stairs on the right hand side is a door unmarked except for a bunch of "authorized persons only" stickers. That's the door of the immigration officer. I made a request for a souvenir stamp and they said OK.
In St. Maarten (Dutch side), I was told the immigration officer was located past the cruise ship docks, where the cargo containers were, so I didn't have time to go investigate. Couldn't find the tourism office in St. Martin (French side) and also didn't have enough time to find out where immigration was. Also didn't have time in Nassau, the Bahamas.
Didn't need it, but there is a US Customs and Border Patrol office in the cruise terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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PassportStamp - the site where you can create your personalized travel maps and see who has visited each of the world's countries
Unusual Stamp
You can get your passport stamped at Machu Picchu. Of course you don't actually leave Peru on your visit, but the official office near to the main entrance will put a passport style stamp into your passport that will be probably be one of the more unusual stamps you will get.
N
Inca Trail & Galapagos Island stamps
You can get your passport stamped not only at Machu Picchu, but also at each checkpoint along the Inca Trail...which is nice if you have the space in your passport!
The Galapagos Islands have a nice stamp too - although part of Ecuador, you are required to show your identification when entering and if you ask nicely they'll stamp your passport...
The end of the world
Not quite as dramtic as the subject says but you can get you passport stamped at the museem in Usuhia (the southern tip of patagonia).
The stamp reads "Fin del Mundo".
Liechtenstein
You can also get your passport stamped in the tourist office at Vaduz. You have to pay them a euro or two (which as we all know, is cheating). But it looks rather nice. And you get to do something in the otherwise rather dull town...
Heathrow (!)
Also, on the way back from the States, I joined the 'non-EU' line, much to the annoyance of the LHR people, explaining that the US hadn't collected my green visa waiver thingy.. which they hadn't.
Reluctantly, I got a 'Heathrow' in the passport... with a rather disparaging (and large) 'BY REQUEST'... :)
Passport Stamps
On a small island in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands called "One Foot Island" you can get a entry and exit stamp - gimicky and for tourism purposes only - absolutely no need to, but I thought it was fun (I think they charged you for the privilege though!)
Gibraltar
Gibraltar stamps British passports if you ask them nicely... didn't get one on the way in, so I went back to get the stamp... meanwhile the friend I was travelling with, who was waiting at the border and looking suspicious, was being questioned by Spanish police!
Island of Zanzibar
Off the coast of Tanzania there is a famous Island called Zanzibar. It owned by Tanzania and is classed as Tanzania. However you get a Zanzibar stamp if you arrive by boat from the mainland.
Andaman Islands
When you arrive from mainland India into Port Blair, Andaman Islands, since foreigners technically require permission, you are stamped both entry and exit.
Though nothing special when
Though nothing special when I took my wife on a canal boat holiday it was nice to see italy added i've got so many countries around the world i've started putting a little flag on each page.
Panmunjom on the South
Panmunjom on the South Korean side offers a DIY passport stamp experience. Looks a bit cheesy really.
Always Lost...
I've been on a few cruises and have never been able to get my passport stamped. I've looked and search (with never enough time) for places to get them and have never had any luck. Although I have read that some cruise lines will hold your passport for your at the guest relations desk and get them stamped for your while at the port. Royal Caribbean no longer does it and i doubt Celebrity would cause its the same company but other lines just might. Great blog and ill be sure to look here for my next trips.
Also... can you purchase souvenir stamps anywhere online for places you have visited but dont have stamps for?
Tambopata
Yes, I also got the Machu Picchu stamps (I seem to remember actually stamping it myself) and also on entering the Tambopata reserve in Peruvian Amazon by riverboat you get one too.
Gibraltar Stamp
I have both a UK (EU) and a NZ Passport. But my wife has only a NZ one. This means that she can only stay in the EU for a maximum period of three months at a time. Hence we have to leave the EU occasionally and non EU stamps are the best proof of this.. On our trip to Gibraltar she asked whether she could have a stamp and the officer smilingly put his foot down hard and asked "Will that do". He then stamped the passport with a big smile and wished her a pleasant visit.
Mount Rushmore
Got a stamp from Mount Rushmore and Tokyo Tower, Japan. Look nice, but they use up pages when you need them. Honduras didn´t stamp when transited through on bus. Looking for ward to getting Tristan de Cunha stamp next year, even if they charge GBP25 for the privilige.
European Union...?
I have the Machu Picchu stamp and it is sooo cool! I would highly recommend getting it to anyone that is going there because they usually don't charge you for the stamp and it is totally worth the sometimes-lengthy wait to get the stamp.
I'm going to Germany in September and will probably also visit the Czech Republic and maybe Poland. I know that as long as you stay within the EU, they usually don't check passports when traveling from country to country, but I was wondering if anyone knew if it would be possible to get a stamp if you were persistant, and if so, where would you go/what would you do?
Andaman
Hi, I am living in Nepal and leaving for Andaman next week for two weeks,
Looking for somewhere remote and silent, any tips ?
François
Former countries of
Former countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar form the United Republic of Tanzania. So Zanzibar is not just "classified" as Tanzania; it is a part of the country.
Unusual Stamp
I am just back from Timbuktu. There the tourist office will stamp your passport for nothing. Sadly it is written the French way "Tombouctou", which is a shame because I learned that actually the English pronounciation and spelling is correct.
Going Inbound or Outbound an
Going Inbound or Outbound an EU country. Also when you arrive into the GB via Airplane, you'll most likely get one. I got one in GB. Then inbound to Italy and outbound from The Netherlands.
There aren't even borders
There aren't even borders within much of the EU any more, the border is only marked by little blue signs and sometimes disused customs buildings
I thought I would get lucky
I thought I would get lucky with Royal Caribbean when Guest Relations told me to drop off my passport the following day, and if local authorities OKed it, they would get my passport stamped at Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Cozumel. However, the next day I showed up at Guest Relations a different person said, sorry, they don't offer that service.
I was able to get my passport stamped at Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios on my own (Cozumel I was on a day-long excursion and didn't have time.) Interestingly, I got the same Welcome to the Cayman Islands stamp with a turtle that everyone has (undated by mistake, as this was 08.00 local time), and in Ocho Rios I didn't get a stamp "for as long as vessel remains in port" but a regular stamp allowing me to stay two days!
Nassau, the Bahamas
DCL Wonder 4-night cruise. 2009-FEB-09.
In Nassau, go straight towards to the main exit. Right before you reach the main exit, note the tall yellow tower, the immigration office is right behind it. If you can't find it, ask the officer checking passenger's boarding passes and IDs where it is, they'll gladly tell you (2 minutes walk from the main exit / entry). The officer was very friendly, I offered him a "drink" but he politely refused. I was there by myself, but brought 3 passports with me (wife's and daughter's). In, stamped, and out in less than 5 minutes.
Tokyo Tower Stamp
Where in the Tokyo Tower did you go to get the passport stamp? Do you have a picture of it?
Passport stamps
I got the coolest stamp in France! But it wasnt issued at the airport as I came in on the train from Barcelona (no stamp there either). So I asked around and made it sound important (I told them Canadian Immigration says I have to have one). Turns out that France as well as other EU countries have turned their stamping over to a different department. In France it's called the Police of the Frontier (Ministere de Intereure). They will stamp it for you. And it's just not a collectors thing, if your from a non EU or Shenegan Accord country you are technically supposed to get one. It's a two parter and it's signed, so I was pretty happy. I always felt silly about my mild-obsession with getting my passport stamped, it's good to see others are crazy too. Speaking french was a must to pull this off BTW.
More Information please!
United States Citizen and passport:
I have been traveling back and forth from the Netherlands and I am wondering if someone can tell me that since I dont have my residence permit cleared if I will be able to get back into the country after a vacation in Miami, Florida. I have a 'vacation'stamp in my passport and I need to know if I risk being deported or something along those lines??
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cruise Stamps
Any tips/hints for getting my US passport stamped in Honduras and Belize when I go on my cruise in January?
Real forum chat
Hi All
Just thought I would add a comment so we can get back to discussing travel rather than being bombarded with adverts in the 'In the Forum' Section.
My comment -
Does any know if it is illegal to get stamps purely for tourism - i.e. Macchu Pichu stamp rather than just stamps at borders and visas
Not really a stamp...
... but if you go to Armenia and want to go to Ngorno-Karabakh (disputed land territory with Azerbaijan) you are required to get a VISA, not entirely sure why... (money and 'security').. it does look pretty cool though - it takes up a whole page in your passport which is not so great if you dont have much room!
I entered Kosovo from Albania (before they declared independence) and was given an UNMIK stamp by the UN - this is not recognised by Serbia and I have heard that it CAN result in cranky Serbian border control deciding that you have entered the country illegally and refuse to let you exit, telling you to go back the way you came (ie, back to Albania) and enter the LEGAL way.
Im not sure if everyone else found this too - but it seems that for Cuba they won't automatically stamp your passport unless you ask for it? I guess its for all the Americans who dont want to get sent to jail or fined.
I have a friend who works in Antarctica and she managed to secure a stamp (obviously these are not traditionally given out) however im not really sure how she did it, so thats not overly helpful :) Sorry.
Scanned pages of my passports..
..with stamps:
http://www.netikka.net/unisieppari/passite.htm
Partly poor quality, though.
Cyprus
I'm going to Nicosia later this year... I've heard that obtaining a Northern Cyprus stamp can cause trouble if trying to re-enter the South half of the city, is this something I should worry about?
In 1992 when I got a Tokyo Tower stamp..
..there (somewhere) was a stamper free to use, anywhere and as many you wanted. BTW, I think that that kind of unofficial stamps are not to be stamped to a passport but any paper else, as a souvenir.
Scanned visas etc
If you join passportstamp facebook group you can the scans of visas and entry / exit stamps of my visits. Multiple entries are usually only shown once.
Tokyo tower stamp.
Stamped it in my passport. It takes a whole page. Room I could have used for proper stamps. Mount Rushmore is smaller stamp.
Cyprus stamps
No, not a problem at all. As part of the EU talks with Turkey, the border has lightened up considerably. We were there in October, and there was absolutely no hassle at all...
Passport stamps within the EU.
I got passport stamps when I was travelling within the EU anytime I left 1 country for another when I went this past spring. The only time I didn't was when I went from London > Paris via bus.
I didn't have to ask for a stamp anytime. They just automatically stamped it.
And yes they do check your passport, although I was only questioned once when I entered London regarding my exit ticket.
Santander
I went on a short cruise from Portsmouth to Santander in Northern Spain back in April 2008. It was a cheap way for us to go travelling with the kids, and despite the passport control being nothing more than a desk, we asked the guy for a stamp in our childs passport and he was happy to oblige. Nice little stamp actually, although being a toddler he is too young to appreciate it!
eu stamps
Normally there are no controls between countries that are members of Schengen. But if you enter the EU from a non-member state and are not an EU passport holder you will probably get a stamp. Switzerland is not an EU member so entering Germany from Switzerland is one possibility. The last time I visited Poland the stamps filled the whole page, things have changed since then, if you travel there by car you could ask at the border. On my last visit to the Czech republic I travelled by bus, there was no one at the border to ask. Sometimes there are passport checks on the trains, especially when there is a security alert, but the officers don't always have a stamp with them. If you have an EU passport then they usually refuse, though I did get one from Slovenia last year. Hope this helps